Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
On November 16, 1972, the 17th session of the General Conference of UNESCO adopted the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention for World Heritage") in Paris. The convention mainly stipulates the definitions of cultural heritage and natural heritage, national protection and international protection measures for cultural and natural heritage. The Convention stipulates that each state party can determine its own cultural and natural heritage within its territory and submit its heritage list to the World Heritage Committee for review and approval by the World Heritage Congress. All sites listed in the world cultural and natural heritage are strictly protected by their countries according to law.
The governing body of the Convention is the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO, which was established in 1976 and established the World Heritage List. Places listed in the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee will become world-famous places, which can receive assistance from the World Heritage Fund, and the relevant units can also attract and organize international tourists for sightseeing activities.
The Convention stipulates that cultural heritage is "buildings, sculptures and paintings with outstanding universal value from the historical, artistic and scientific point of view, with archaeological elements or structures, inscriptions, caves and complexes", such as the Forbidden City in China; "Single or connected buildings with outstanding universal value in architectural style, uniform distribution or combination of environment and scenery from the perspective of history, art and science"; "From the historical, aesthetic, ethnographic or anthropological point of view, there are outstanding human projects or joint projects between nature and people and archaeological sites, etc.", such as the Great Wall in China and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. Cultural heritage protection areas include: historical buildings, historical cities, important archaeological sites and giant sculptures and paintings with permanent commemorative value.
The Convention stipulates that natural heritage is "a natural appearance composed of material and biological structures or such structural groups with outstanding universal value from an aesthetic and scientific point of view"; "Geological and natural geographical structures with outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or protection, and areas clearly designated as threatened animal and plant habitats"; "Natural landscapes or clearly defined natural areas with outstanding universal value from the perspective of science, protection or natural beauty", such as the Three Parallel Rivers, Jiuzhaigou and Wulingyuan in China. Natural heritage protection areas include: national parks and other species protection areas that have long been designated.
The dual heritage of culture and nature refers to the heritage that combines natural and cultural values, such as Mount Tai and Mount Huangshan in China.
With regard to national and international protection of cultural and natural heritage, the Convention stipulates that all States parties recognize that "the identification, protection, preservation, exhibition and inheritance of cultural and natural heritage within their own territory are mainly the responsibilities of the countries concerned. To this end, the country will do its utmost to make maximum use of its own resources and, if necessary, make use of available international assistance and cooperation, especially in finance, art, science and technology. " The Convention also clearly stipulates that while fully respecting "the sovereignty of the country where the cultural and natural heritage is located, it will not damage the property rights stipulated by national legislation, and at the same time, it recognizes that such heritage is part of the world heritage, so the whole international community has the responsibility to cooperate to protect it".
With regard to the ownership of cultural heritage and natural heritage, the Convention clearly stipulates that while fully respecting "the sovereignty of the country where the cultural and natural heritage is located, it will not damage the property rights stipulated by national legislation, and at the same time recognize that such heritage is part of the world heritage, so the whole international community has the responsibility to cooperate to protect it". Each State Party shall not intentionally take any measures that may directly or indirectly damage the cultural and natural heritage within the territory of this Convention.
there are four conditions for inclusion in the world cultural heritage: first, it has outstanding universal value; second, it has sufficient legal basis; third, it has a long history; and fourth, the present situation is well protected.
List of World Heritage in Danger: According to the provisions of the Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the World Heritage Committee has established a list of World Heritage in Danger. The heritage listed in the endangered world heritage list must first have the qualification of world heritage, and at the same time face the danger of being destroyed. These dangers include: deterioration, the threat of large-scale public or private projects, the damage caused by the rapid development of cities or tourism, major changes caused by unknown reasons, random abandonment, the outbreak or threat of armed conflicts, fires, earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, water level changes, floods, tsunamis and so on. In case of emergency, the World Heritage Committee may, at any time, put the heritage facing the above dangers on the endangered heritage list. Countries with endangered heritage, members of the World Heritage Committee or the World Heritage Center of the World Heritage Committee may apply for assistance for endangered heritage. As of July 28, there are 3 "endangered" world heritage sites in the world.
On July 7th, 24, the 28th session of the World Heritage Committee adopted the Suzhou Decision, which changed the Keynesian Decision that the States parties to the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage could only declare one world heritage every year to: from 26, a State party can declare at most two world heritages every year, at least one of which is a natural heritage. Since 26, the number of World Heritage applications accepted by the World Heritage Committee will increase to 45 each year, including projects deferred from previous sessions, extended projects, transnational joint applications and emergency applications. The decision pointed out that this revision is still a "tentative and transitional" measure. > >
The Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage is one of the international conventions with the largest number of States parties at present. Since the Convention came into effect in 1975, 18 countries and regions have joined the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and become contracting parties worldwide. China acceded to the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985. As of July 28, there are 878 World Heritage Sites on the World Heritage List. Among them, 37 cultural sites and natural landscapes in China have been listed in the World Heritage List.
China put forward the Wuxi proposal for protecting industrial heritage. China was elected as a member of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
In 28, 47 landscapes of China's world cultural and natural heritage applied to join the World Heritage List. EU countries will jointly build European heritage brands.